Adjustable beverage container holder

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an adjustable beverage container holder. The beverage container holder may include a housing and a plurality of deformable bands. The housing may include a bottom end, a top end opposite the bottom end having a container receiving opening, and a wall extending between the top and bottom ends. The wall may include an outer wall portion and an inner wall portion. The outer wall portion and inner wall portion may be rotatable relative to one another. The plurality of deformable bands may extend between corresponding sets of upper band mounts and lower band mounts. The lower band mounts may be disposed on a lower portion of the outer wall portion and the upper band mounts may be disposed on an upper portion of the inner wall portion. Rotation of the outer wall portion relative to the inner wall portion may cause the plurality of deformable bands to transition from a first position wherein the plurality of deformable bands form a beverage receiving area corresponding to a beverage container of a first size, and a second position wherein the plurality of deformable bands form a beverage receiving area corresponding to a beverage container of a second size.

RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 63/357,692 filed Jul. 1, 2022, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to an adjustable beverage containerholder that may conform to a wide variety of beverage containers havinga range of sizes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages come in a wide variety of cans andbottles that have an equally wide variety of shapes and sizes. Forexample, sodas generally come in standard twelve-ounce cans, alcoholicseltzers and ciders generally in a taller but skinnier twelve-ounce can,and beer in yet a different size can, particularly if more thantwelve-ounces.

Moreover, beverage consumers often drink the beverage over time and itis often desirable to maintain the initial temperature of the beverage.To this end, various ways of maintaining beverage temperature in thevarious cans and bottles have been provided, with cloth Kloozies® beingone of the most popular. Such Koozie® can holders hug the can andprovide insulation. However, one has to have multiple sizes of the canholders to fit the various diameters and/or heights of beverage cans andbottles.

An alternative is a zippered sleeve such as described in U.S. Pat. No.11,191,380 B2. The sleeve is adjustable between a first position and asecond position using a zipper or other means of closings, such as ahook and loop closure. Such a sleeve, however, provides limitedinsulation and is not secure around the beverage container.

There, however, remains a need for an adjustable beverage containerholder than can be adapted and conformed to fit a wide variety ofbeverage container sizes having a variety of diameters and heights.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

According to various embodiments of the invention, an adjustablebeverage container holder is provided. The beverage container holder mayinclude a housing and a plurality of deformable bands. The housing mayinclude a bottom end, a top end opposite the bottom end having acontainer receiving opening, and a wall extending between the top andbottom ends. The wall may include an outer wall portion and an innerwall portion. In some embodiments, the outer wall portion and inner wallportion may be rotatable relative to one another. The plurality ofdeformable bands may extend between corresponding sets of upper bandmounts and lower band mounts. In some embodiments, the lower band mountsmay be disposed on a lower portion of the outer wall portion and theupper band mounts may be disposed on an upper portion of the inner wallportion. In operation, rotation of the outer wall portion relative tothe inner wall portion may cause the plurality of deformable bands totransition from a first position wherein the plurality of deformablebands form a beverage receiving area corresponding to a beveragecontainer of a first size, and a second position wherein the pluralityof deformable bands form a beverage receiving area corresponding to abeverage container of a second size.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the features, advantages and objects of theinvention, as well as others which will become apparent, are attainedand can be understood in more detail, more particular description of theinvention briefly summarized above may be had by reference to theembodiment thereof which is illustrated in the appended drawings, whichdrawings form a part of this specification. It is to be noted, however,that the drawings illustrate only one preferred embodiment of theinvention and is therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope asthe invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a perspective view of an adjustablebeverage container holder in a first position;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a perspective view of an adjustablebeverage container holder in a rotated and extended position;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an exploded view of the adjustable beveragecontainer holder shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 ;

FIGS. 4A-4C are illustrations of top views of the adjustable beveragecontainer holder shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 and illustrate rotation ofthe adjustable beverage container holder and corresponding effect on thedeformable bands;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a top view of the adjustable beveragecontainer holder shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are illustrations of a front view and back view,respectively, of the adjustable beverage container holder shown in FIG.1 , FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a cross-sectional view of the adjustablebeverage container holder shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 and takenalong a line AA of FIG. 5 ;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a cross-sectional view of the adjustablebeverage container holder shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 and takenalong a line BB of FIG. 5 ;

FIG. 10 is an illustration of a cross-sectional view of the adjustablebeverage container holder shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 and takenalong a line CC of FIG. 6 ;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of perspective views of an outer wall portionof the adjustable beverage container holder shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 andFIG. 3 ;

FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 are illustrations of perspective views of an innerwall portion of the adjustable beverage container holder shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 ;

FIGS. 14A and 14B are an illustration of perspective views of a top capring of the adjustable beverage container holder shown in FIG. 1 , FIG.2 and FIG. 3 ;

FIGS. 15A and 15B are an illustration of perspective views of a bottomcap of the adjustable beverage container holder shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 2and FIG. 3 ;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Several embodiments will be described more fully in reference to theaccompanying drawings. However, this disclosure should not be construedas limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to thoseskilled in the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elementsthroughout. Thicknesses and dimensions of some components may beexaggerated for clarity.

The terminology used herein is for the purposed of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a,” “and,” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being“attached,” “coupled” or “connected” to another element, it can bedirectly attached, coupled or connected to the other element orintervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an elementis referred to as being “directly attached,” “directly coupled” or“directly connected” to another element, there are no interveningelements present.

All patents, patent applications and publications referred to herein areincorporated by reference in their entirety. In case of a conflict interminology, the present specification is controlling.

It is noted that any one or more aspects or features described withrespect to one embodiment may be incorporated in a different embodimentalthough not specifically described relative thereto. That is, allembodiments and/or features of any embodiment can be combined in any wayand/or combination. Applicant reserves the right to change anyoriginally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including theright to be able to amend any originally filed claim to depend fromand/or incorporate any feature of any other claim although notoriginally claimed in that manner. These and other objects and/oraspects of the present invention are explained in detail in thespecification set forth below.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, anadjustable beverage container holder 100 is shown in FIGS. 1-3 . Theadjustable beverage container holder 100 may include a housing 103having a bottom end 104, a top end 105, and a wall 106 extending betweenthe bottom end 104 and the top end 105. The top end 105 may include acontainer receiving opening 108. The wall 106 may include an inner wallportion 110 and an outer wall portion 130. The inner wall portion 110may be nested in or otherwise disposed adjacent to the outer wallportion 130. In some embodiments, the adjustable beverage containerholder may include a top cap ring 150 and a bottom cap ring 170. In anembodiment in which there is an optional release mechanism, an optionalbottom mount window 122 having a release bottom 128 may be positioned onthe wall 106.

A plurality of deformable bands 185 may extend between the bottom end104 and the top end 105. The deformable bands 185 may be any materialsuch as metal, cellulosic or polymeric (e.g., elastic material such as arubber band) that is flexible and deforms (e.g., is elastic) so as toreceive and hold a beverage container when inserted in the housing.

The housing 103 may be cylindrical although the selection of othershapes will be within the skill of one in the art. In one preferredembodiment, the housing may comprise insulating material for minimizingheat transfer between a beverage in a beverage container disposed orinserted into the housing 103 and the ambient environment.

In some embodiments, the bands 185 may be attached to the outer wallportion 130 at an upper portion of the housing, and attached to theinner wall portion 110 at a lower portion of the house. As the outerportion 130 and the inner portion 110 are rotated relative to oneanother, the path of each band 185 may extend substantially along aperimeter of the inside of the housing in a first position, to extendingacross more interior portions of the housing as rotated, as will beexplained in greater detail below.

Referring to FIGS. 4A-4C, FIG. 4A shows the bands 185 in an initialposition with an opening for insertion of a beverage can. In this firstexemplary rotational position illustrated in FIG. 4A, the bands 185extend partially across the interior and collectively form an openingsmaller than container receiving opening 108. Further rotation, however,as depicted in FIG. 4B and FIG. 4C, results in ever smaller openingsformed by the bands 185. In some embodiments, on rotation of the top capring 150 of the adjustable beverage container holder 100, in acounterclockwise direction, FIG. 4B shows the bands having been deformed(e.g., tightened) and the opening reduced. As shows in FIG. 4C, bycontinued rotation of the top cap ring 150, the bands may be deformedeven further depending on the diameter of the beverage can. It isrecognized that the top can ring 150 and the bottom can ring 170 may berotated in opposite directions in contrast to only moving the top canring 150. Practically, this rotation enables a user to size the beveragecontainer holder 100 as desired to fit a wide range of beveragecontainers.

Additional features of the invention may be seen in top, front and backviews of FIGS. 5-7 respectively and the cross-sectional views of FIGS.8-10 . The adjustable beverage container holder 100 includes an outerwall portion 110 and an inner wall portion 130 which twists relative toeach other, a plurality of deformable bands 185, a top cap ring 150 anda bottom cap ring 170. The bottom cap ring may include a domed standoff174. Referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 , the adjustable beverage containerholder 100 includes the top cap ring 150, the outer wall portion 110,the inner wall portion 130 and the bottom cap 170. The inner wallportion 130 may include deformable inner band mounts 144 for thedeformable band which connect to the outer band mounts 120 of the outerwall portion 110. The inner wall portion 130 may include spiral trackriders 136 which receive spiral tracks 114 of the outer wall portion.This track arrangement allows the inner wall portion 130 to rotaterelative to the outer wall portion 110. Additionally the spiral trackriders 136 and spiral tracks 114 may facilitate the ability to allow theadjustable beverage container holder 100 to become taller and toaccommodate tall and skinny beverage containers such as are common toalcoholic seltzers. The outer wall portion 110 and the inner wallportion 130 may be locked relative to each other via the release mountbutton 128. The release mount button 128 facilitates maintaining thetension of the deformable bands 185 and the grip around the beveragecontainers to be maintained in two or more positions. The two or morepositions may be predetermined positions. When the button 128 isengaged, tension may be released and the aperture created by thedeformable bands may be opened thereby allowing a beverage container tobe released and discarded if empty. In one embodiment, the mount button128 may be motorized.

The track arrangement is further illustrated in FIGS. 11-13 . FIG. 11 isa cutaway of the outer wall portion 110 illustrating the trackarrangement. The outer wall portion 110 may include an outer cylinder112 and a lower ring structure 116. The spiral tracks 114 are shaped tobe received in the spiral track riders 136 of the inner wall portion 130shown in FIG. 12 . Referring to FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 , the inner wallportion 130 may include an inner cylinder 132, slots 134, an upper rimplate 138, an upper ring structure 140 grooves 142 and the deformableband mounts 144.

Referring FIGS. 14A, 14B, 15A, and 15B, aspects of the top cap ring 150and the bottom cap ring 170 are shown. The top cap ring 152 may includean upper ring plate 152, an opening 154, a rim 156, support members 158and a snap feature 160 for attachment to the adjustable beveragecontainer holder. The bottom cap ring 170 may include a lower plate 172,a domed standoff 174, a rim 176, support members 178 and a snap feature180 for attachment to the adjustable beverage container holder. Thebottom cap ring 170 may include customization to facilitate grip of thebottom cap ring 170 to a surface.

While the invention has been shown or described in only some of itsforms, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that it is notso limited, but is susceptible to various changes without departing fromthe scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An adjustable beverage container holder,comprising: a housing, comprising a bottom end, a top end opposite thebottom end comprising a container receiving opening, and a wallextending between the top and bottom ends comprising an inner wallportion and an outer wall portion, wherein the outer wall portion andinner wall portion are rotatable relative to one another; a plurality ofdeformable bands extending between corresponding sets of upper and lowerband mounts, wherein the lower band mounts are disposed on a lowerportion of the outer wall portion, and the upper band mounts aredisposed on an upper portion of the inner wall portion; wherein rotationof the outer wall portion relative to the inner wall portion causes theplurality of deformable bands to transition from a first positionwherein the plurality of deformable bands form a beverage receiving areacorresponding to a beverage container of a first size, and a secondposition wherein the plurality of deformable bands form a beveragereceiving area corresponding to a beverage container of a second size.2. The beverage container holder of claim 1, wherein the housing issubstantially cylindrical.
 3. The beverage container holder of claim 1,further comprising a locking mechanism for selectively engaging theinner wall portion and outer wall portion in two or more positions. 4.The beverage container holder of claim 3 wherein the two or morepositions are discrete, predetermined positions.
 5. The beveragecontainer holder of claim 4, further comprising a release mechanism fordisengaging the locking mechanism.
 6. The beverage container holder ofclaim 1, wherein the housing comprises insulating material forminimizing heat transfer between a beverage container disposed thereinand the ambient environment.